The Mysterious Lady
by Tristan's Lady Meg
Summary: Ever wonder what it would be like to go into a movie and change some things around? Well she did, and this is her story. TOC
1. Chapter 1

Please be kind, this is my first story to post on here. I have posted it on KAFF, but would enjoy having more people read it. Please review and be kind, if you can't then I can just delete those :).

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, though if I did, I'd own Dags and Tristan. :)

**Chapter One**

The seven knights and Guinevere were shooting arrows at the Saxons. They heard the ice cracking and prayed that it would break under the weight of the army. They soon realized that it wasn't going to break. Arthur yelled at them to get ready for combat. Guinevere and the knights dropped their bows and arrows and grabbed their swords.

As he rose from getting his sword, Dagonet looked at his ax. Making a split-second decision, he dropped his sword and grabbed his ax. He then took off toward the Saxons. Arthur, realizing what Dagonet was going do, yelled, "COVER HIM!" and the knights grabbed their bows and arrows again.

As Dagonet hacked away at the ice, a brilliant and blinding light appeared in front of him. He looked up to see a figure with a large shield standing in front of him. The shield was protecting him from the Saxon arrows; it was also allowing him space to beat at the ice.

All of a sudden, the ice split right between the legs of his savior. The person looked down and noticed the split. A rich voice rang out to Dagonet's ears, "I believe two more should do it." Without breaking his stride, Dagonet looked at the figure. And, as predicted, two more blows sent the ice breaking and splitting toward the Saxons. Just then, the ice broke under the two and they struggled to hold on to the edge of the ice.

When they were about to lose their grip, a pair of strong hands caught their wrists. The hands dragged them out of the water and on to a solid part of the ice. Dagonet had accidentally inhaled water and was passed out due to the coldness. The figure looked at his body and saw that he was not breathing. The figure pushed away the hands holding them back. They crawled over to Dagonet and felt his wrist. Finding a pulse, the figure started to push on his chest. Bors, thinking that the person was going to hurt his friend, pushed the person away.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?" he yelled.

"If I don't do this, he will die. He has water in his lungs and I must force it out." the figure said to him.

Going back to what they were doing, they did not realize that the rest of the knights and Guinevere had crowded around. Guinevere heard the person talk and was a little shocked. "Lady!" she breathed. The only ones who heard her were Lancelot and Tristan, and that was because they were standing on either side of her.

The knights watched as the figure pushed on Dagonet's chest. Then they were shocked when the person moved to his head and breathed into his mouth, or to them, kissed him. The person breathed twice into Dagonet, and then the man started to cough up water. The person quickly turned Dagonet onto his side to keep the water from reentering his mouth. As Dagonet calmed down, the figure moved to the side to let the others fuss over the man.

"Well, my work here is done, so I shall be off." The person tried to stand but was quickly sat back down by Arthur. Since Dagonet was going to live, all eyes had turned to the person. The person sat on the ice shivering from having had a quick swim in the icy lake. Their clothes clung to their figure and the hood of the cloak was pushed back enough to show the lower portion of their face. Guinevere moved closer to the person.

"Lady? Is it truly you?" she asked quietly. The person pushed the hood further back off their face until it fell on to their back.

"Yes Gwen. It is me."

As the hood fell, the knights were taken back at the sight of a woman under the cloak. "As much as I love seeing your faces right now, I am currently freezing my rear end off and would like to get him warm before he gets sick." She said while smiling.

With that said, she got up with the help of Gwen and Tristan, since he was the closest to her. The other men helped Dagonet up and they walked over to where the horses were waiting with Jols.

When everyone but the "Lady" was mounted, Tristan reached down and offered his hand to let her ride with him. She smiled up at him and said.

"Thank you, but my ride will be here in a minute." Just as she finished speaking, the men heard a high pitched neigh coming from over the hill. Everyone looked toward the sound to see a pure white horse with a saddle, bridle and a pack already on its back. The men sat in awe as the animal galloped up to the mysterious woman. The woman smiled at the horse as it nuzzled her neck.

"Hi Angel. How's my girl doing? Have you been sweet for Merlin and Gwen for me?" She said while getting reacquainted with her horse. Lancelot and Arthur exchange glances as they watch the pair. She reached into one of the packs and pulled out some fresh clothes.

"Excuse me gentlemen as I change into something warmer. Gwen, would you hold my cloak open to give me some privacy?" The Lady asked as most of the men had turned around or walked away to join the caravan.

Arthur, being the leader and also not entirely trusting of the woman, stayed behind so that he may find out who she was. Lancelot, being an overly flirty male, stayed but didn't turn around. He decided to see what she looked like under the sodden cloak. The Lady looked at Lancelot and smirked. She had expected him to stay and watch as she changed.

Gwen grabbed the cloak off the Lady and held it up as she changed. Because she was between Gwen and her horse, Lancelot didn't get a glimpse of what she was wearing.

Due to the cold temperatures, she did not take very long to change. When Gwen lowered the cloak, the Lady was dressed in black trousers, a white tunic, knee high boots, and she also had a belt for her sword, which had also been on the horse. Her hair was waist length and wet from her dip in the lake. She quickly pulled her hair into a bun and took the cloak from Gwen. She quickly mounted Angel, and placed her cloak across the front of the saddle. She, then, leaned down to help Gwen mount behind her.

"Well, shall we be off gentlemen?" the Lady said. Arthur looked behind him to see both women ready to go. With a nod of his head, the four rode off to catch up with the caravan. Not much was said between the men and the women. By the time they had reached the back of the caravan, the women had caught up on what had happened since the last time they had seen each other.

When they got to the caravan, everyone was surprised to see another woman on a beautiful white horse. The caravan carried on until night fall, where they stopped to make camp in a small clearing in the forest.

Gwen and the Lady dismounted and brushed down the horse. While the Lady was placing her things on the ground with care, Gwen went about starting a fire.

After she was done, the Lady walked over to Dagonet to check on how he was doing. He smiled at her and greeted her.

"Ah, here is my lovely savior. How are you doing Lady?"

She smiled and sat down next to him. "I am doing well, but the question should be; how are you doing."

He chuckled. "I am as well as can be expected from taking a swim in an icy lake."

She laughed a little, "I know the feeling. I was unable to wear my cloak due to the fact that it was soaking wet. It is currently laid out over a tree branch to dry out before tomorrow."

Dagonet smiled, "Why did you not ask for something to warm yourself? One of us would have been kind enough to loan you something."

She looked at him and said, "My dear fellow, unlike you, your fellow knights are not as trusting of me. True, I saved your life, but think of how I showed up. Not many people would be so accepting about it." He looked at her and nodded his head in agreement.

"Well, I just came over to see how you were doing. After the swim and the ride, I am ready to fall asleep. Goodnight sir knight." She smiled and stood.

As she walked back to her camp, she noticed nearly all the knights were watching her. When she got to her fire, she realized something.

"Hey Gwen. What happened to Lucifer? I just realized that he wasn't with Angel when she came to me."

Gwen looked up and said, "I don't know. After you left, he went missing. None of us have found him nor seen him since. You might want to whistle to see if he returns to you."

"You are right. After I left, he would not have stayed around. He didn't trust many people. I think he stayed with me because I took care of him when he was injured. I'll see if he'll answer my call in the morning. Right now I'm just going to bed. I'm tired. Goodnight Gwen." The Lady said.

And without another thought, she lied down and fell asleep, much to the displeasure of Arthur.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The following morning saw a lone figure moving quietly away from the camp. Not one person was awake to see the lone figure leave. About an hour later, Guinevere was rudely awakened by Lancelot.

"Where did she go? Could she not handle having to explain herself to Arthur?" he yelled at her.

Because he was so focused on yelling at Guinevere, Lancelot did not hear someone come up behind him. All of a sudden, he feels a blade up against his neck and a hand in his hair.

"Next time I won't be so nice. This is your one and only warning. If you ever yell or manhandle her again, I will slit your throat. Is that clear?" Lancelot gritted his teeth and nodded his head as best as he could with a knife to his neck.

"Good. Now release her and slowly walk away." The Lady released his hair and removed the knife.

When she looked around, she realized that all of the knights had stepped up and were ready to do something had things turned bad. Lancelot released Gwen and was about to walk away, when he quickly turned around and had one of his swords out and pointed at her neck. She looked at him with blank eyes.

"Did you want something? Or are you pissed off that I managed to come up behind you?" She asked with a smirk.

Just as he was going to say something, Arthur came up to him. "That's enough. She had a right to do as she did. Leave it be." Lancelot looked as if he had swallowed a lemon, but he did take his sword from her neck and stomped off.

"Lady, you sorely test the patience of one of my faithful knights. Be careful of what you say or you will be forced to show us if you really are as good as you say." Gwen and the Lady shrugged their shoulders.

As the caravan got underway, everyone was startled by a series of short whistles. Everyone looked at the Lady, wondering what she was doing. But she was not paying attention to anything; she was staring intensely at the sky. She sat like that for about five minutes, and just as she turned her head, a series of whistles were heard coming from beyond the trees. Without thinking, she spurred her horse toward the sound.

All of a sudden, a large, black hawk comes soaring out of the trees. Several horses were startled by the sudden movement. All of the knights looked on in awe at the beautiful bird. The hawk was pitch black, not another color found on his body. He was graceful and majestic soaring in the air, as if as he didn't have a care in the world.

The only person not totally fixed on the hawk was Tristan. His gaze was split between the bird and the Lady. She was staring intently at the bird. Without another whistle or sound, the Lady raised her arm without a glove, and the hawk gently landed on the perch.

"Lucifer, my dear. How have you been? Have you enjoyed yourself in my absence?" The Lady cooed to her bird.

Tristan rode up to her and admired the bird, who was sitting gently on her bare forearm. "Lucifer is an interesting name to give a hawk. Tell me, Lady, how did you come up with it?"

The Lady looked over at him and was just a bit shocked; for this had been the most she had heard him say anything in her presence.

She smiled and said. "Well, for one, he is the opposite color of Angel, my horse. And secondly, he is the devil when he wishes to be. He does not go willingly to anyone, but me. However, if you would like to try to hold him, you are most welcomed. That is, if he agrees to it."

Tristan smiled a small smile to her and held out his arm. Gawain and Galahad watched in half amazement and amusement as the Lady raised her heavily burdened arm towards the usually quiet scout.

The hawk looked at Tristan's arm, then up to the face of his mistress. She smiled and nodded her consent to him and he generally moved from her arm to the man's heavily protected arm. Tristan smiled at the bird then up at the Lady.

"He is a beautiful creature. How did you ever tame him?" He asked.

"I didn't. He is as wild as he was born. I came across him when he was injured. And believe me; I have many scars from when I was caring for him. I do not own him. It is more like he owns me. Lucifer comes back to me because I am kind to him and he gets fed without having to hunt for his food." She said while stroking the bird's feathers.

Tristan was about to say something, when he was interrupted by Arthur. "My Lady, I would like to extend an invitation to you to explain yourself. Would you honor me with your presence at my fire?" He said cordially.

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Okay. But I would like to have all of your knights and Gwen there with us. This way we won't have to repeat ourselves."

Arthur looked at her and was a little amused at what she said. "Alright, I will tell them. I am eager to hear what you have to say." He nodded his head and rode off.

For the rest of the day, Tristan and the Lady rode together. Sometimes talking, but for the most part, they rode in silence. The rest of the knights were amused to see their scout seek out, let alone talk with someone other than the knights.

When it came time to camp, the Lady made a place for herself away from the others, but it was still close to Tristan's bedroll. When it quieted down a bit, Gwen and the Lady made their way to Arthur. By the time they got there, all of the knights were there making themselves comfortable. There were only two seats left' one next to Arthur, which Gwen took, and one on a tree stump between Dagonet and Lancelot. The Lady sat down on the stump and smiled at Dagonet. However, she ignored Lancelot's flirtatious leer; which slightly annoyed him, much to the amusement of Gawain and Galahad.

Arthur looked across the fire at her and asked. "Well Lady, it is time for you to inform us as to who you are. We know that you are not Woad, but you associate with them. We, also, know that you are not a Roman, nor are you anything we can recognize. So please, tell us your story."

She looked at Gwen and then to Arthur. "Well, Arthur, my tale is a strange one. One you will probably not believe. But that is fine with me, as long as you believe that I am not here to hurt you, but to help you and your men survive the next coming months. I think I will begin with telling you who I am and then tell you where and when I come from." She stopped to take a drink.

"When? What do you mean when?" Galahad asked, looking a little perplexed.

"Yes, young one, when. Now, if that is the last question? I will begin." She paused to look around. Apparently, Galahad had not liked her nickname for him, but that was fine because the other's found it amusing. Arthur, intrigued, gestured for her to continue. She smiled a little and began her story.

"My name is Megan, but please call me Meg. I was the third and final child of my parents. I grew up like most children. I often played with my friends, shirking my responsibilities to do so. And I went to school, or as you would say I was a scholar of sorts. My favorite subject was History. And as any child, I hated to go to school or do my studies. But as I got older, I found that I had a knack and a love for animals and history. History of a certain time frame and one place in specific.

As I was doing research on these things, I found a book. This book turned out to be a journal from the time period I was researching about. As I began to read this journal, I realized that I had found the key to my project. However, I did not come to realize that the journal was indeed a key, as in a key for a gate, until I was about halfway through it, and I had a strange sensation in my stomach and I passed out.

When I next woke up, I was lying at the feet of Merlin. He looked at me and said with a smile. 'Welcome to Briton. I have been waiting for you for a very long time. Please come and I will explain everything to you.'

Well, not knowing what to do, I got to my feet and walked with him to his home. As we walked, he asked me questions about who I was and how I had come to be there. I told him everything I knew and when I was through, we had reached a small camp. Maybe twenty people or so, but this is where I met Gwen. She saw Merlin and I and she came running up to us. She hugged him and turned to me and said. 'I knew they would be a female.' And she laughed. Now mind you, I had no clue as to why she was laughing at me nor did I know who she was. I just looked at her without a look on my face.

So anyway, Merlin took me to his tent and sat me down and told me that I had a destiny to full-fill and that he was going to help me do this. I looked at him as if he was nuts, but I thought that since I had no idea as to how to get home, I might as well go along with him.

So, I stayed with Merlin and the Woads for two years. I was taught how to fight with any weapon and I taught them the value of a horse. The Woads had raided a small village and had found several horses. Since one of the Woads was one of my mentors, he brought all seven horses back to me. He knew that I could ride and had longed to again, but the sneaky little devil had another plan.

He wanted me to teach six capable Woads how to ride, in exchange; I got to keep the seventh horse for myself. So, the first thing I did was, I rode each horse for a day to learn the temperaments. Then I chose six Woads, who I thought would be able to handle them, and I took them, all of them, away from the camp.

The only people, who knew where we went, were Merlin and Gwen. Gwen came with me as a supporting hand and a friend. We were gone from the camp for, I believe, six months.

During that time, the Woads I was teaching learned enough to be able to teach others themselves. It was when we were gone that I found Lucifer and took care of him.

When we got back to camp, Merlin told me that my job was done for now and that I was to go home for a little while. But he had given me a gift; he had taken the ring on my finger and cast an enchantment on it. He told me that if ever I was needed or if I wanted to come back, the stone in the ring would glow.

So I left, after putting Merlin and Gwen in charge of Angel and Lucifer. When I got home, I found out that the two and a half years I had spent here had, in fact, only been two and a half days. My family was a little concerned, but it had not been unusual for me not to talk to them for a couple of days.

All this took place about eight months ago. It was two days ago when my ring started to glow. When I touched it, I turned up on the ice with a cloak around me in front of Dagonet here. And the rest you know." Meg finished talking and took a drink.

She looked around at the faces of the knights. Their expressions ranged from thoughtful on Arthur, to disbelief on Bors. From quiet acceptance on Tristan and possibly Dagonet, to bewilderment and puzzled on Gawain and Galahad.

Lancelot was the first to speak up.

"That tells us who and what you are, but not the when part. And the part that puzzles me the most is; how is it that you spent almost three years here, but you were gone from your home only three days? That is not possible."

She looked at him then looked around. All of the other knights were looking at her, waiting for an answer. "Well, I can not tell you, in specifics, of how all this went about, I can tell you that the when part is going to be the hardest part to accept. I come from the year two-thousand and four (2004). I fell back in time about one-thousand, five hundred thirty-nine years (1,539), give or take. You probably won't believe me, but that's fine. It took me a while to accept it myself. And now that I have told you who I am, I am going to bed; it has been a long day. Good night." With this, Meg got up from the quiet circle and went to bed.

It wasn't long before the knights got up and went to their beds as well; all of them pondering on what she had said.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The next day yet again saw a lone figure rise before anyone else, except this time it was noted by a quiet and reserved scout. Meg got up and stretched her aching muscles; it had been a while since she had slept on the ground. After she was done stretching, she cleaned up her little area and again walked off into the woods, not knowing that someone else was watching her.

After she had left, Tristan got up and followed her into the woods. Meg walked until she came to a small clearing. She went and stood in the middle and closed her eyes. She took several deep, calming breathes and started moving.

When Tristan came to the clearing, he stopped beside a tree. He was fascinated by what she was doing. It looked like a dance, but it was some what different. She moved with the grace of a bird and every movement was precise. Tristan watched as she moved, wondering what she was doing. He thought it was a form of meditation, but he was not sure.

They went on like this for about half an hour. When she was through, she was standing in the center of the clearing covered in sweat. As she finished, Meg realized that she was not alone as she thought she had been. As she turned around to go back, her ice blue eyes collided with a pair of honey brown. Meg smiled as she walked towards Tristan.

"Ah, I see I have been caught. Did you enjoy it?" She asked.

Tristan flushed a little. "Yes, I did. What was it you were doing? It was interesting."

She glanced at him and noticed that he was sincerely interested in what she had been doing.

"It is a form of martial arts. It is a fighting style found in the Orient. It helps me to focus and concentrate better. If you want, I can show you some of the moves. It takes a lot of discipline to do it correctly."

Tristan was shocked at the offer, but he knew better than to let something like this pass up. "I would like that very much. In exchange, I will show you some of my fighting skills."

Meg thought that was a good plan and agreed. They continued talking until they got to the camp. By the time they had returned, several knights were a little worried. They had woken up to see not only Meg gone, but also Tristan. Those knights that didn't trust her thought she had killed Tristan. The others thought the opposite. So, when they returned, they were greeted with mixed emotions. Meg and Tristan looked at each other and smiled. They were thinking the same thing; Let them think what they will.

It took another day to reach Hadrian's Wall. When they got there, an ornately dressed man came out and greeted them, well most of them. Meg felt bad for the Roman boy, Alecto. He did not look comfortable with the greeting from the man. The knights were, then, given little scrolls. Apparently these were their discharge papers. The men took them with great hostility, which was amusing to watch to Meg.

As she was watching, Jols walked passed her. "Excuse me, Jols?"

"Yes, my dear." Meg smiled.

"Could you tell me where I might take Angel? I do not know my way around."

He smiled at her and said. "Don't worry, Lady Meg. Arthur has already made arrangements for you and Lady Guinevere. You, both, have rooms near the knights and your horse has a stall open for her near Tristan's horse."

Meg laughed. "He sure does not waste time, does he? And he is smarter than I gave him credit for. Well, Jols, will you show me Angel's stall? She needs a good rub down. She's worked hard these last few days. Oh, and please call me Meg, I am no lady." Jols laughed and agreed to show her to the stables.

Meg took almost an hour to care for Angel. But it was mostly for herself than for the horse. When she was done, she grabbed her weapons, two swords and several throwing knives, and her saddle bags of clothing and went to find Jols or someone to show her to her room.

After she got to her room, she placed her things where she wanted them. When she finished, she went to find Gwen. Meg came upon a slightly open door with raised voices coming from the room. So, being a little nosy, she stood next to the door and eavesdropped on the occupants.

"But Arthur, you and your men came back safe. Isn't that enough?"

"No, it isn't. I almost lost the life of one of my trusted knights and friend. All because you sent us on a suicide mission, but it wasn't just the mission that has me so pissed off. You and Rome decided to hold the freedom that my men have worked so hard for over their heads and mine by the way. That was unforgivable in my eyes and theirs."

Meg had been listening so intently that she did not know someone was behind her until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Stifling a scream, Meg whirled around to see Gawain and Galahad behind her. She looked at the pair and shook her head.

"Did you want me to die of fright?" She asked. They looked at each other and than shook their heads. Meg smiled.

"Come on then. I am in need of something to drink, and then I might even challenge the both of you to a duel." She batted her eyelashes, and then turned to walk away. Again then looked at each other, but this time they smiled wickedly.

The three of them laughed and joked all the way to the tavern that Bors' lover, Vanora, worked in. Meg was enjoying herself when the rest of the knights showed up. She noticed that that Vanora was having a hard time keeping up with the demands of the knights. So, she got up and went to Vanora.

"Vanora? Do you need any help?" Vanora looked up and saw a woman she did not recognize, but she soon remembered what Bors had said.

"You were the one to save Dagonet, yes?" Meg nodded. "I should be the one asking you if you need anything. You saved Dag. My Bors would have been heart broken to have lost a good friend. For that, I thank you." Vanora said.

Meg blushed slightly. "Oh please. I just could not let something so finely made to go to waste." Meg winked at Vanora, who burst out in laughter.

"I could get to like you. But if you really want to help, would you take the baby? He is fussing and I don't know what is wrong with him."

"Vanora, I would love to care for your son. Where is he?"

"Let me get him from Bors, would you take this cup to Tristan while I get him?"

Meg smiled and took the cup. She looked around to find the scout, but did not see him. Just as she moved to ask where he was, she saw a flash coming from one of the dark corners. Meg walked over to the corner with the cup and sat down at his table. She realized that the flash that she had seen had been the light reflecting off of his knife as he sliced pieces of apple and ate them. Tristan looked up from his apple to see Meg sit down.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Not really. Vanora asked me to bring you a drink while she got number eleven from Bors. Apparently, he's fussy tonight and she doesn't know why. But between you and me, I would be fussy too if my father was Bors." Her eyes twinkled with suppressed laughter.

Tristan didn't even try to hold it back. His laughter rang out above the noise of the crowd. Just then Vanora walked up with a very cranky baby.

"Here you go Meg. I really appreciate your help. I have to go; I think Gawain and Galahad are out of drink already."

"Vanora, tell them they still owe me a duel. Maybe that will ease their drinking a bit." Meg said while taking the baby.

Vanora smiled and left to refill glasses. Tristan looked at her while eating his apple. She was at ease at holding a cranky baby as she was at doing her strange meditation exercise. Meg cooed and rocked the baby, and when that didn't work, she stood up and swayed back and forth.

"You look like you've done this before." Tristan said.

Without breaking her rhythm, she replied. "I have a couple of nieces at home. My mom says that I have a calming effect on children. My sisters get annoyed when I'm the only one able to quiet their children down."

He looked at her with a searching gaze. He agreed with her mother about the calming effect. When he was around most people, he got nervous and it came out as sarcastic; but with her, he could be the man he had always wanted to be. Funny, witty, caring, and a hint of charming, all in all a toned down version of Lancelot.

Speaking of Lancelot, Tristan looked up from his musing to see him coming to join Meg and him. Lancelot sat down in the chair that she had just got out of.

"Well now. Tristan you do work fast. I didn't even know you knew how to pleasure a woman." He said sarcastically.

Meg turned around with a scathing look in her eyes. "Well, you know Lancelot. It's always the quiet ones you have to look for. The loud obnoxious ones are the ones trying to prove something. So you might want to take some advice. It's better to keep your mouth shut, than to prove everyone correct."

With that she leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on Tristan. Lancelot's mouth dropped open. He had never had a woman choose Tristan over him. Meg and Tristan looked at his face and laughed. Tristan had been as shocked as Lancelot had been when she kissed him. It humbled him a bit to know that she liked his quiet ways.

A strange sound broke both men from their thoughts. They looked towards Meg. The sound was coming from her, but when they sat closer, it turned out that she was humming to the little boy. Also, she had a decent voice, which sort of shocked Lancelot. Most women he knew were not quite so talented in other areas besides pleasuring a man.

Vanora walked up to Meg and heard her humming and made a quick decision. She loudly asked, "Meg, would you sing for us? It would be good to know I am not the only singer here."

Most of the patrons heard and started chanting for a song. Meg, embarrassed, quickly agreed. Bors pulled her to the center of the floor and everyone quieted down. She hummed a few bars to get her voice ready and started to sing.

_Home is behind,_

_the world ahead._

_And there are many paths to tread. _

_Through shadow._

_To the edge of night._

_Until the stars are all alight._

_Mist and shadow._

_Cloud and shade._

_All shall fade._

_All shall fade._

As she finished, she looked around the crowd. Most of the women had tears in their eyes, and most of the men were deep in thought. Meg looked towards the knights to see their reactions. Gawain and Galahad had their eyes closed, but had tiny smiles. Bors and Dagonet were standing with Vanora between them. All three were a little misty eyed. Lancelot had his head bowed so she could not see his expression. As she looked at Tristan, she was just a little scared at his reaction, but he was just watching her. His eyes were tracing over her facial features like he was memorizing everything about her. When his gaze met hers, the intensity of it was tremendous.

It wasn't until Bors came to claim the sleeping child, did their gazes waver from each other. Startled a little, Meg looked towards Gawain and Galahad. She smiled as she walked over to them.

"I hope you are not too far into your cups to duel with me, because I am still a little rusty for I have not practiced in a while." She said with a little smirk.

And with that both men grabbed her by her arms and started to drag her away. She laughed at their enthusiasm, but told them that she needed her weapons and to change into "proper" dueling gear.

As she walked back to room, she ran into Gwen. Meg told Gwen about the duel and Gwen decided that she wanted to play too, so she got her things and the two women went to meet the knights.

As they came up to the practice ring, they noticed that all of the knights, most of the Roman guards, Arthur, the Bishop Germanis, and young Alecto had gathered around. The great and pompous Bishop was disgusted at the sight of the women.

Gwen had dressed in traditional Woad battle gear. Meg had her cloak on so no one could see what was under it. Her hair was pulled back at the sides, but left the rest down the back. Her hair was a wealth of auburn curls that reached her waist.

The knights watched as she took off her cloak to reveal an interesting outfit. Her pants were black and looked a little big on her. Her shirt was un-tucked and the sleeves were rolled up to reveal wrist sheaths with a pair of throwing knives. But the most astonishing thing about her outfit was her shoes. They were a pair of slippers more suited for being under dresses. On her back was a pair of matching swords with sheaths that criss-crossed.

Meg got to the ring and took her shoes off. She also started stretching her muscles.

"I hope you don't mind Gwen joining us. She and I usually spar each other and rarely find someone willing to spar with us." She asked while bending over.

Both men agreed and got ready to spar with the women. Arthur was in charge of who was the winner, as Jols and Ganis took bets on who would win. The Romans betted on the knights while the villagers, and, secretly, Tristan went with the women. Gwen walked over to the knights and said.

"We start with weapons. When the first person is out of weapons, everyone else puts theirs away and go hand- to- hand. Sound fair?"

Both knights agreed a little bit smug. Gwen walked back to Meg and they each got out their chosen weapon. Gwen's was a small sword and a battle ax, but Meg's was a pair of swords much like Tristan's. Gawain looked at Galahad as they pulled their weapons out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

When Arthur walked into the ring, Meg said to Gwen. "You take the young one; I need a little bit more of a challenge." She smirked when she saw Galahad's reaction.

Apparently, he still didn't like his new nickname. So that is how they paired up, Gwen with Galahad and Meg with a tipsy Gawain. Arthur gave the signal and both men charged the women. Both women stepped easily out of range. They looked at each other and smirked.

"I thought you were supposed to be good."

"I was hoping for more of a challenge." They said to the men.

The crowd chuckled a little. Gawain raised his ax while he tried to cut under it with his sword, but both were met with resistance. Somewhere along the way, Meg had raised her swords and easily blocked his attack. Flicking her wrist, she disarmed him of his ax. Gawain and some of his fellow knights were shocked. Meanwhile, Galahad had tried to cut Gwen's legs out from under her, but he, too, lost a weapon quickly.

Both men were startled when the women changed places. Meg stated snidely, "Let's change. Maybe we'll have better results."

The men were a little enraged at this and started to attack in anger. The women easily blocked all of the attacks.

As the men tired, the women started to attack. Galahad could not keep up with the speed and accuracy of Meg's attack. He fell onto his back and lost the last of his weapons. Arthur called out to Gwen and Gawain causing them to stop. Meg helped Galahad up and moved toward the outside of the ring.

She got to Tristan and said. "Would you be so kind as to hold my weapons? I don't trust anyone else not to run off with them."

Tristan nodded his head and she handed him her swords. Plus about ten knives and the back sheaths. Gwen had done the same to Arthur. Meg, then, shocked everyone by taking her shirt off. Revealing a top made of leather, but it only covered her breasts, letting everyone see how toned she was.

Meg looked around and smiled. "Can't get my favorite shirt dirty."

Most were shocked still, but Gwen and Tristan laughed. Gwen and Meg walk back to the center of the ring. "First one unable to get up is out and their partner will have to continue with two on one. Is everyone clear?" Meg stated.

Again, it was Meg against Galahad and Gwen against Gawain. The women looked at each other and smiled. Tristan watched as the women got into the same fighting stance. The men glanced at one another and started forward. Galahad was the first to reach his opponent.

He, clumsily, swung at Meg's head. She ducked and kicked out with her right foot, catching him in the stomach. Galahad doubled over, but quickly stood back up. He breathed deeply and tried to attack again. This time Meg just stepped out of the way, and tapped him on the butt.

"You have a nice and tight butt. How did you manage that sitting on it for as much as you do?" Meg said with a smirk.

The comment did the trick; it infuriated Galahad into attacking in anger. The more he attacked, the more tired he got until he was on the defense against her attacks.

Tristan was amused, he had figured out Meg's strategy right after her first comment. He realized that the moves she was using were an almost exact copy of the ones he watched her do in the forest. Tristan, now, understood her need to focus. Because she could easily hurt Galahad if she wanted to, but she was just playing with him.

While the four were dueling, many people joined the crowd. Right as Meg was going to give Galahad the final blow, the pompous Germanis spoke to Arthur with a loud voice.

"Arthur, this is despicable. You have women running around the fort dressed like harlots and you do nothing. They should be put in their place and made to respect their betters."

This one comment broke Meg's concentration enough to let Galahad get a hit in. Recovering from the blow, Meg straightened and looked at the Bishop with fire in her eyes.

"Gwen, let's halt this for a minute. I need to set the Bishop straight." Meg called to Gwen in their native tongue.

Gwen looked at her and saw the fury in her eyes. She stepped back from Gawain and waited to see what was going to happen. Galahad and Gawain were startled when they realized the women had stopped.

Tristan stepped in front of Meg as she made her way towards the bishop.

"Meg, you need to calm down. You can't kill him." He said calmly.

Meg looked at him and said. "I'm not going to kill him. Just put the fear of God into him." She smiled and snatched one of her knives from the pile he still held in his hands. Stepping around Tristan, Meg sashayed up to the Bishop, who was looking at her body. Meg smirked, thinking 'some man of God he is.'

Because he was busy drooling over her body, Germanis did not realize that she was furious. The other knights and Arthur went to stop her, but one glance at her face made them think again.

Galahad looked at Meg then to the Bishop and said to Gawain, "What do you want to bet that she will have him whimpering and crying like a little baby." Gawain smiled at him and nodded his head.

Meg got to the Bishop and waited until he raised his eyes from her chest. Germanis looked at the girl's eyes and was startled at how blue they were. He put a seductive smile on his face. "Yes, my dear?"

Meg smiled at him. "Did you enjoy the view of a 'harlot'?" Germanis knew instantly that he was in trouble.

"Because the only despicable thing I have seen since arriving here is you. How dare you call me despicable when you held these men's freedom ransom until they brought a sniveling child back to you? Sorry Alecto. All these men have ever done was what you and your fellow countrymen have told them to do. Why was it that you were not out there with them as they fought battles not of their making? Why is it that they were taken as young boys and thrust into a world and war not their own? These men have been on this island for fifteen years and not a single thank you from people of your stature. Do you not realize that if not for men like Arthur and his knights, you would not be where you are now? Germanis, I suggest you get your shit packed and be ready to move out before the first rays of sun hit my face. For if you are not gone, I will plant my foot up your lily white arse so far, you will be sprouting toes from your ears and nose. And don't think I won't do it, I have nothing to lose with killing you."

Meg got done with her speech and was about to walk away when she heard the Bishop say.

"You might not have anything to lose, but these men do. I will not allow a whore tell me what to do."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Just as he said the last word, Germanis found himself lying on his back in a pile of horse dung. His jaw aching from where Meg had punched him. She straddled his torso and had her knife at his throat.

"Don't ever threaten them again. I will kill you next time; however, this time I will give you something to remember me by."

Meg held his head to one side and carved an 'L' and an 'M' on the side of his neck. "Now every time you get a wild hair up your arse to persecute innocent people, you will have me on your neck reminding you what one innocent 'harlot' did to you." With that she got up and walked toward the stable.

No one moved until Gwen ran after Meg, Arthur looked at Germanis then turned and followed Guinevere. Tristan, Dagonet, and Bors exchanged looks and silently left. Lancelot, Gawain, and Galahad were silently laughing at the dung covered Bishop.

"That was bloody brilliant." Galahad exclaimed.

"Yeah. Did you see his expression when she hit him? Priceless!" Gawain agreed.

"I wish it had been me, but then I never would have seen him brought down a peg or two. By a girl no less." Lancelot said as they went to the stables.

Jols and Ganis looked at the money from the bets then to each other. The rest of the crowd left as Horton helped Germanis up and handed him a cloth to stop the bleeding. Germanis snatched the cloth away and pressed it to his, now, scarred neck. Horton followed the grumbling and disgruntled Bishop back to his room to start packing, knowing full well that she meant her threat.

At the stables, Gwen ran in to find Meg, but was unable to locate her. The knights joined Gwen a minute later and were startled to not find Meg there.

"Where do you think she is?" Galahad asked Gawain.

Before anyone could say answer, Meg dropped in front of them. "Were you looking for me?" She asked.

Startled, everyone looked up and saw Meg hanging up-side down from one of the rafter beams by her legs. Bors looked at her and asked. "How in the bloody hell did you get up there?"

Meg chuckled. "Did you know that you just sounded like an irate father then? But to answer your question, I climbed up here. It's not that hard to do, even your portly self can do it."

Gwen and the knights laugh at Bors' face. Arthur stepped up to Meg and said quietly. "Thank you." She looked at him.

"For what? Threatening him, carving him up, or not killing him. Because I came very close to doing more than scarring him for life."

Interested in what was going on, the knights crowded around to hear Arthur's reply. When it came, it shocked everyone including Arthur.

"For everything. For saving Dagonet, for not interrupting my yelling match with Germanis. For singing number eleven to sleep and for making everyone think of home with a simple song. For making sure Gawain and Galahad don't drink and wench. But most of all, for taking a stand for what you knew was right and making sure others knew you were. And also doing the one thing I have been wanting to do, but have been to scared to do, and that is giving the little weasel something to remember you by and not the initials."

Everyone looked between Arthur and Meg, their mouths open in awe and disbelief. Feeling as if she was going to pass out, Meg quickly flipped off the beam to land on the floor. She stood up straight and walked over to Arthur. She hugged him and said.

"You don't have to thank me. I did all those things because I could help someone. Except the Bishop, he just pissed me off, and it is not a good thing to piss me off."

Meg stepped away from him and smiled at Gwen and the knights. "Okay. Enough with the serious stuff, who is going to buy me a drink?"

With that everyone laughed and walked to the tavern where Vanora was waiting with drinks for them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

After a while of drinking and laughing and games, Arthur hugged Meg and walked to his room to relax. Meg watched as Gwen followed Arthur's progress with her eyes.

Meg leaned forward on the table, "Gwen, I know you want to go after him. So do it already." Gwen looked a bit startled then smiled and took off after Arthur. Dagonet and Tristan, who were sitting at the same table, chuckled.

The three of them sat there quietly drinking their drinks, when all of a sudden five piercing whistles were heard by everyone. The knights looked up to see what it was, but could not see anything in the night sky. Soon their eyes were drawn to Meg, who had gotten up, hastily, from her chair and was sprinting for the battlements. The knights looked at her fleeing body and quickly followed after her.

When they caught up with her, they found her looking out over the battlements with Lucifer on her shoulder. Confused at what she was looking at, they drew closer and followed her gaze.

Meg looked at the knights and said. "Jols, please go and get Arthur. He needs to know about this." Jols nodded his head and ran off to Arthur's room.

The knights either sat down or leaned against the wall waiting for Arthur. They didn't have to wait long. Arthur and Gwen came running up the steps, both looking a bit bedraggled. Arthur and Gwen look towards Meg and received a small smirk from her. With a little blush, they both look over the wall and were shocked to see thousands of camp fires littering the grounds in front of the woods.

"Knights, my journey with you must end here. May God go with you." Arthur said after looking out over the crowd of villagers. Without a nod or a smile, he walked off. Not believing Arthur, Lancelot raced after him calling his name. As Lancelot tried to talk some sense into Arthur, Meg takes Gwen's hand.

"I will see you at the camp site at dawn with your supplies. Don't waste the time you have with him." Smiling a small smile of thanks, Gwen followed after Arthur and Lancelot.

Meg turned to the other knights. "It your choice to join him and me on the battle field, I hope you will consider it."

With that, she smiled and hugged all of the knights, ending with Tristan and Dagonet, who both got pecks on the cheeks.

"If you choose not to join, then God speed on your travels. If you do join, I will see you on the field." She turned and left them where they stood, Lucifer flying after her.

Slowly the knights left. Bors to the tavern to collect Vanora and to pack their belongings. Galahad and Gawain, also, head to the tavern, but to get jugs of wine and some willing distractions. Dagonet went to his room to pack his belongings, his heart heavy with indecision. Tristan, too, went to his room to pack, but he finished quickly because he never collected much of the non-useful clutter.

After making sure his things were ready, Tristan walked out of his room and down the hallway to Meg's room. Knocking lightly so not to disturb anyone, he waited for a reply. He heard foot steps in the room and the door opened to show Meg.

She looked at him then turned and walked back to her bed. Tristan walked into the room and closed the door. He leaned against the door and watched as she got her knives and swords in order.

Without looking up she says. "Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to tell me what you came here for?"

Tristan chuckled. "You do know how to get to the point. I just came to say good-bye."

Her head came up and looked at him. "Was that it? You just wanted to say good-bye. You walked all this way for that? Will wonders never cease?"

Meg turned back to her weapons. She moved them from her bed to the chest that was placed under the window. As she turned around, she ran into Tristan, who had quietly come up behind her.

"Actually, that wasn't the only reason why I came here."

"Oh? What were the other reasons?"

By then they were standing close enough to have tension in the room. Looking deep into her eyes, he leaned close enough to allow his lips to gently play on hers as he spoke to her.

"I also wanted to know if you meant what you said to Lancelot earlier today at the tavern."

"If you don't know your own worth and how sexy you are, then I shouldn't have to waste my breath trying to convince you."

With that, she turned to walk away from him. She got about two steps from him when she suddenly found herself crushed against his chest and his mouth moving sensually over hers. After getting over the shock, Meg closed her eyes and moved her arms to circle his neck.

When they came up for air, they looked into each others eyes and knew that this was probably going to be the last time they would see each other. Not wanting to waste time, Meg gathered Tristan's shirt and walked backwards until her knees hit the edge of the bed. They kissed again and they undressed each other.

As he pulled her shirt off, Tristan trailed his lips along her neck and collarbone. After stripping Tristan of his shirt, Meg lightly ran her hand down his back and up his chest. Tracing his scars with a fingertnail, Tristan shifted a little when she found the scar on his side.

Meg smiled. "A little sensitive, are we?"

Tristan smiled back and nudged her backwards on to the bed. Lying down beside her, he ran his hand down the center of her chest, from her neck to the waist-band of her pants.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me? I almost threw you over my shoulder when you took your shirt off this afternoon." He said to her in a desire-filled voice.

She looked into his honey brown eyes and saw the same thing that was reflected in hers, love and desire. She leaned down and kissed his lips, then kissed her way to his ear.

"No, I had no idea you felt this way. But do you know what you have done to me? You sit in a dark corner of the tavern and watch everything. Your face never shows what you are thinking. But when you look at me, I feel as if I am the only one you are looking at. And that really sets you apart from the rest." Meg said while kissing his chest.

When she got to his belly button, she suddenly found herself on her back with Tristan above her. He smiled wickedly at her and proceeded to do the same as she had done. When he got to her pants, he gently slipped them down her legs and let his eyes trace her body.

Meg felt that he was memorizing the way she looked. She let him finish and after he was done, she pushed him onto his back again and removed his pants and boots. Meg looked at him and committed this image to her memory. As she finished, their eyes met and they moved as one to get as close as they could.

Just before dawn, Meg woke up and tried to stretch. When she could not move, she remembered the night before. Smiling, she turned over to look at the peacefully sleeping man in her bed. Tristan cracked an eye open and then quickly closed it.

"Hmm. Go back to sleep. It's not quite dawn yet." He said with a sleep laced voice.

"I can't. I have to get ready for the battle, which means I have to leave now." She replied.

Groaning a little, he stretched his muscles. "Is there any way I could convince you not to fight? I just found you. I don't want to lose you."

Meg, touched by his show of emotion, cupped his cheek in her hand. Smiling sadly, she told him. "No, dearest. This is why I was sent back. We all have a destiny, this just happens to be mine. Yours is to take the freedom you were granted and live it and do as you please. There is no longer anyone to tell you what to do. No one to send you on suicide missions. It is your choice, something you have not the freedom to do in fifteen years."

Meg kissed him and got out of the bed. Still a little shocked at her speech, Tristan watched as she dressed. She put on a pair of tight fitting black pants, her shirt from the day before, and her knee-high boots. Then she put her weapons on, beginning with her daggers in her boots and ending with the twin blades on her back.

As she went to brush her hair, Tristan got out of bed and sat her down on the stool in front of the hearth. With gentle strokes, he worked through the knots and tangles in her hair. To finish, he started to put braids in her hair much like his own. After he was done, he leaned down and kissed her bare shoulder.

Reaching into one of her bags, Meg pulled out a silver necklace with an upside-down horseshoe hanging from it. She stood up and turned to face Tristan.

Holding the necklace up, she smiled at him. "I would like for you to have this. My sister gave it to me as a birthday present and I would like for you to have it. Not as a going away gift, but something tangible to remember me by."

He looked at her, but said nothing. Fearing he would start to cry, Tristan sat down on her vacated stool and allowed her to put the necklace on him. When she was done, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit carefully on his lap.

"I have no words to express what I am feeling right now. But if you will allow me to dress, I have something to offer you in my room."

They hugged and she got the rest of her things together as he dressed. Soon after, they were walking quickly, but quietly down the hall towards his room.

When they got to his room, Tristan went digging into his bags, looking for something. Meg sat on his unused bed and smiled as he rummaged through his bags.

With a cry of success, he lifted out a wooden box. Walking over to sit with her on the bed, he lifted the lid of the box to reveal a little jar of ink, another jar with needles, and a little wooden hammer.

He smiled at her. "In my tribe, it is an honor to receive the markings of a great warrior. This is the most personal gift I could ever give anyone, and I would like to put my markings on you." Tristan said with a little blush.

Touched beyond belief, Meg smiled and nodded her head. He instructed her to lie down on her stomach with her head facing him. He crawled onto the bed to get a better position to work on her back. When he got situated, he opened the box, then the jars and picked out the needle and wooden hammer.

After dipping the needle into the ink, he raised it to the place between her neck and shoulder blades. She tensed a little as he raised the hammer.

"Relax dearest, it won't hurt." Tristan said soothingly. And he began to tap the needle with the little hammer.

A.N.: Here you go Priscilla2 and Scouter, more of Tristan. And thanks for being so loyal and reviewing every chapter I put up. :)


	7. Chapter 7

A.N. : I'd really like to thanks Scouter and Priscilla2 for reviewing. I'd also like to say that this chapter is a tissue chapter. So grab and tissue, towel, or and shirt before reading. :)

**Chapter Seven**

Half an hour later, he got off the bed and stretched his cramped legs. Meg got off the bed as well. Stretching a bit, she took out her mirror and admired his handiwork. Not only had he placed a soaring hawk on her back, he had put matching arrows on her cheekbones.

Both markings matched his identically. After tiding up, he reached back into his bag and removed a cloth wrapped object.

Removing the cloth, Meg was astonished at the necklace lying in his hands. Still in awe, she looked up into his eyes.

"My mother wore this at her wedding as her mother and grandmother did. She gave it to me to give to the woman I was going to marry. I would like for you to have it. As a token of my love and devotion to you." A little shy of her reaction, Tristan watched her face.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she smiled and sat down on the edge of the bed. He stood in front of her and attached the trinket around her neck.

Touching it reverently, Meg stood and gave him a passion-filled kiss. She whispered into his ear while hugging him, "I love you too."

After another soul rattling kiss, she got her bags and left with fresh tears flowing down. Running as fast as she could, she made it to the stables without breaking down completely.

With a quiet sob, she walked to where Angel was stalled. When she got there, she found her horse missing.

"You didn't think I would let you go without at least a goodbye from you, did you Meg."

Whirling around, Meg found Jols holding the reins of her horse. Smiling she walked up to him and hugged him.

"Thank you, dear friend. May the gods protect you this day." She said with a final hug.

Climbing onto her horse, Meg looked at Jols and said.

"Look for the Woad riders in the battle. You will find me quickly. And put some armor on to protect yourself. I expect to see you when this is over."

Jols smiled at her and nodded. With that done, Meg rode off to the woods to get things set up.

At the Woad campsite, Meg untacked Angel to allow her some time to roam before the battle. Meg walked through the camp, nodding her hellos to everyone. Just before getting to her tent; a little girl, about six or seven, runs up to her calling her name.

Turning around, a smile forms on Meg's lips. Kneeling down to the child's level, she asked. "Yes, dear?"

The little girl's face lit up. "Lady Meg, Merlin would like for you to go to him. He said it was important."

Meg smiled. "Thank you dearest. I will see him after I put my things away."

She gave the little girl a hug and stood back up. The little girl nodded and ran off to play with her friends.

After putting her things away, Meg made her way to where Merlin was talking with the other elders. Most of the elders smiled at her and nodded their heads in greeting. The others just looked at her and sneered when they noticed her new tattoos on her cheeks. As Meg approached Merlin, she smiled to the ones who greeted her and glared at the ones sneering.

"Ah, Meg. So good of you to join us. We are currently at a stand still in our decision making. You have spent time with the knights, what can you tell us about them?" Merlin asked with a smile.

Meg, knowing Merlin, smiled and replied. "Well, Merlin, these last few days I have gotten to know Arthur and his knights. Arthur is a free thinking Roman. He believes that everyone is free and wishes he had known what Rome really was before too many of you had died. When he went to retrieve the Pope's godson, Alecto, Arthur had the villagers pack their belongings to go with the family to the wall. He knew that these people would slow the caravan down, but he did it anyway.

Now the knights are six different men with several different points of view. But they all agree that, had they not been indebted to Rome, they would not have been on this land killing innocent people."

Some of the elders nodded; however, one spoke what the other elders were not able to confer in words. "How can you say that? I have seen those knights fight our people for fifteen years, and they grew more blood thirsty every year. Take the one with the very same markings you have. He enjoys killing, it shows in his fighting. He knows no mercy and shows no emotion while he kills."

Meg looked at the elder who had spoken. Her eyes becoming ice cold with quiet rage. "Those knights were ripped from their families and made to fight for a country not their own. You have watched them become the men they are and condemn them for fighting for the only thing left to them; the right to live. They became more blood thirsty because every year they lost one of their own. They fight to honor those who did not live as long as they. As for Tristan, he shows no mercy because he was never shown any. He shows no emotion because he is afraid of losing another person who was close to him. I proudly bear his markings because this is his way of showing his emotions." She said passionately.

More elders nodded their heads, agreeing with everything she had said. Feeling a little calmer, Meg turned to Merlin.

"Merlin, I must get ready. For whether you choose to fight or not, Gwen and I have made our minds up and we are staying. I, also, have to gather her things together; she'll be here any time now." Merlin nodded and Meg walked towards Gwen's tent.

Gathering Gwen's weapons and paint, Meg left Gwen's tent and went back to her own. Not being able to sit still, she got her weapons and checked to see if they were sharp enough. After doing that, she called for one of the older women to paint her with the Woad paint. Getting painted took about twenty minutes. Still feeling restless, Meg went for a walk in the woods with only Lucifer for company.

Reaching the edge of the forest, Meg spotted several of her Woad Riders gathered at the edge looking out. Joining them, Meg was curious as to what was going on. She looked out and saw a massive caravan traveling down the road. She laughed when she saw who was leading the caravan. Chuckling under her breathe, Meg watched Germanis and Horton riding in the carriage. Both men were looking out of the windows, half expecting an arrow to come flying towards them.

Laughing a little, Meg looked further down the line. Her eyes found an open slatted wagon with eleven children and a recognizable red-headed woman in it. Her smile faded when she realized that the woman was Vanora and riding behind her were the knights. Taking in the sight of six well made men, Meg teared up a little. Seeing Tristan, Meg let Lucifer fly to him, wondering if he would get her message.

Lucifer cried out a welcome when he got close to Tristan. Hearing a call, Tristan looked up to see Meg's hawk flying towards him. Raising his arm, he gave Lucifer a place to land. Lucifer landed and gave Tristan a nip on the ear as a sign of affection. Stroking the hawk, Tristan scanned the forest to see if he could see Meg.

From the forest, Meg saw Tristan looking around for her. Despite the warnings of her Riders, Meg stepped out of the line of trees. She knew when he had seen her because his expression softened a little. Their eyes met and they exchanged messages of love. Dagonet, who was riding next to Tristan, noticed Tristan's attention focused not on the road ahead, but on something in the woods. Following Tristan's gaze, Dagonet was surprised to see Meg standing at the edge of the woods. She was dressed and painted just like any of the Woads. Meg raised her hand in greeting to Dagonet and Tristan. Tristan nodded his head in a sign of a response. Dagonet raised his hand in a way of acknowledging her.

Just then a silent call rang through the forest. Meg quickly turned to go back to the camp. With a quick look over her shoulder, she committed the picture to memory.

Realizing that she was getting called to battle, Tristan sent Lucifer back to her. Sharing a silent and sad look with Dagonet, they put their attention back to the journey.

As she ran back to camp, Meg wiped a couple of tears out of her eyes. When she reached camp, she knew, instantly, what the vote was. For sitting among the elders, was Arthur with Gwen standing behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Arthur was still discussing with Merlin about the coming battle. Gwen was with Meg in her tent getting ready. Gwen, noticing Meg's new tattoos and remembering the tears in her eyes when she joined the council, did not say anything. She did not know what to say. When it came time for the paint, Meg stepped out to talk to Arthur.

Upon stepping out, she noticed that her Rider's had grown in number in the time that she had been gone. Standing with the six original Rider's were about twelve more riders and horses. Smiling at the ones she called 'her six', Meg walked towards Arthur.

Merlin, noticing Meg come up, excused himself to get ready. Arthur looked up at Meg and stood while smiling.

"Meg. It is good to see you." Arthur said.

"Arthur, it is good to see you as well. Did you have an enjoyable evening last night?" Meg smirked.

Blushing faintly, he laughed. "I have you to thank. Gwen told me she would not have come to see me if you hadn't urged her to. But I see you, too, had an enjoyable night. He must care for you greatly to give you his markings."

With a blush rising to her cheeks, Meg ducked her head. "I did, indeed, have a good night. Tristan told me that this was his way of showing affection. He, also, gave me his mother's necklace as a sign of betrothal and his love. Which, coming from him, is something not to be taken lightly." She looked into Arthur's face and saw a mixture of amusement and sadness.

Smiling a small smile, Arthur put his arm around her shoulders. "I take it that you have not thought of what will happen when you leave?" He said, sadly.

Sighing heavily, she hung her head for a minute. "No, I don't think we were thinking beyond the battle. We just wanted to let each other know what we felt. I guess we will deal with my departure after we survive the battle. And speaking of battles, shouldn't you be getting ready? I know my Riders are ready. I don't believe they have seen a true battle such as the one we are about to partake." Meg smiled ruefully.

Arthur chuckled. "Yes. I do have to get ready. I will see you out there, won't I? I don't think I will survive without your help." Arthur says almost desperately.

Meg hugged him and held his head steady to look into his eyes. "You will see me. If it'll make you feel better, I will ride beside you. My Riders have done well without me for this long, they will have no need of me to lead them."

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. Gathering her into a tight hug, he says a thankful. "I would be honored to have you at my side. You are a true warrior and I am proud to call you my friend."

With a few tears in her eyes, Meg squeezed him and then stepped back. "You need to get ready. I know the perfect spot to sit in order to see everything. And if you hurry, you will get to see the knights embark on their freedom. I know how much it would mean to them to see you one last time. You never know, they may decide to stay and fight as free men for you."

Smiling wistfully, Arthur walked away to get ready. Understanding, Meg went and made sure everything was ready. Walking past Merlin and Gwen, both of which had watched her and Arthur's conversation, she nodded her head distractedly.

An hour later, Arthur and Meg rode up to the top of Badon Hill. From there, they could see over the wall at the Saxons, but they could also watch the caravan leave. Sitting on their horses together, Meg and Arthur glanced at each other as the knights and the rest of the caravan leave.

Smiling sadly, they watched the slow progression, but suddenly Bors rides towards them out of the line. He raised his sword and yelled. "RUS!"

Feeling honored and touched at the sign of respect, Arthur raised his battle standard and yelled back. After wiping a tear from her eye, Meg raised her bow in acknowledgment of Bors' show of respect.

Afterwards, Bors rode back to his spot next to Vanora and his bastards. Meg and Arthur exchanged sad glances and turn back to see where the Saxons were. Noticing two men break away from the army, Meg touched Arthur's arm and directed his attention to the men. They watched as they walked towards the gate. The men stopped even with a large tree and one of them unfolds a white flag. Waving it back and forth in the air to get Arthur's attention, the man looked to the man standing next to him.

Arthur and Meg spurred their horses into a gallop. Coming up to the gates of the wall, they rode slowly out of the smoke. The Saxon leader was a little surprised to see a nearly naked, not really, woman riding beside the 'great and mighty' Arthur.

Arthur drew closer to the leader and Meg let the two men talk while she surveyed the army behind the leader. Spotting the Saxon she saw on the ice, Meg smirked when she saw the fresh cut that traveled down his face from his eye to his upper lip.

"I didn't know you fought with a weak and useless woman. If she were in my camp, she would be tied up and beaten until the only thing she would think of is the pleasure of me and my men."

Meg's attention was abruptly brought back to Arthur and the slimy rat. She rode up to be beside Arthur. She let Lucifer fly off to meet with her later. Angel pranced around the rat.

"This weak and useless woman was the one standing between your men and a knight. And judging by the little weasel standing behind you, I believe I pissed you off. As to being tied up and beaten, you'd have to kill me before I shove one of my many daggers into your manhood and making you scream like a little girl. Then I would let Lucy eat your genetalia from my dagger. You see, he likes the taste of man, especially that part, and you would make a tasty treat for him." Meg gave an evil grin.

The Saxon gave a great shudder, even Arthur looked uncomfortable. With that said, Meg and Arthur rode back to Badon Hill.

When they got back to the top of the hill, Arthur started laughing. Meg smiled. "I take it you enjoyed my comment?"

Arthur snickered some more. "Oh, Meg. You just made my day. His face was priceless. I don't think he believed you would say anything to him." Arthur just sat on his horse chuckling and snickering.

All of a sudden, Meg heard several hoof beats coming up the hill. Looking over her shoulder, she saw all of the knights, led by Lancelot, in full armor riding the hill towards them. Smiling, Meg moved to the end of the line next to Tristan. Just as she was going to say something, one of her Riders rode up and asked for last minute instructions.

Meg gave the directions and then added. "Be sure you have at least one Rider keeping an eye on Guinevere and Lancelot. There is going to be a Saxon with a bald head and a fresh scar on his face that you will have to take down as fast as you can. If you can't, signal to me and I will do it. He is a danger to everyone here." The Rider nodded his head and rode off to tell the others.

Tristan took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. Smiling, Meg said. "How good is your aim, Scout?"

Tristan smirked. "Better than yours, I should hope. Why?"

Grinning, Meg said. "How about a contest then? There is a traitor in the large tree beyond the Wall. We both shoot an arrow and at the end of the battle, we shall see who killed him."

Tristan agreed and they both launched an arrow towards said tree.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

After watching the arrows soar over the wall, Meg and the knights rode down the hill to get ready for the first wave of Saxons. Stopping on a small incline, Meg got off her horse to attach specially made boots for Angel. The knights, confused, watch her put these strange boots on her horse. Meg looked up after putting the last boot on and saw the knights looking curious.

"What? Have you never seen boots like these before?" She asked them.

All the knights and Arthur look toward Tristan, apparently he knew more about such things than them. Tristan shook his head and asked what they did for the horse. Smiling an evil smile, Meg bent over and lifted one of Angel's hoofs to show the men a boot with about six nails on the bottom.

"Angel here is a marvelous battle horse. Before I left, I had these boots made for her to help me in battle. Whenever she lifts her front hooves, the nails can do more harm than just her hooves alone. When she kicks her hooves backwards, she can easily kill a man because the nails pierce through the skin and cause more damage. I'm sure that when this battle is over, you will be wanting some of your own for your horses, and when that happens, I'll be sure to give you my boot as a design for yours." After saying this Meg got back on Angel in time to see the first of the Saxons come in the gates.

The Saxons came charging in through the gates. They stopped running when they realized that no one was there to fight. They looked around until someone finally yelled out. "There. On the hill." All the Saxons came walking in beating their shields, making as much ruckus as they could. When all of them got past the gates, the heavy doors slowly closed behind them with a loud bang.

The knights and Meg waited until they heard the sound of arrows flying through the air. Due to the smoke coming from the burning pits on Badon Hill, the Saxons didn't know the arrows were coming until it was too late. After the arrows did their job, the eight horsemen charged the cowering group of Saxons. Several Saxons were killed with the first attack. As the last of the knights rode through, the Woads sent another rain of arrows on the unsuspecting army. This tactic worked until all but one Saxon were killed. The last Saxon escaped through the gates and the knights and Meg got ready for the next wave of attack from the Saxons.

While they waited for the rest of the Saxons, the knights and Meg cleaned the weapons they had used on the first assault. Meg, having finished her cleaning, looked towards the top of the hill and watched as Merlin walked to the top where Meg could see him with about four catapults and several Woads pushing them into position. Waving to Merlin, Meg then looked towards the woods were her Riders and Guinevere were waiting for their time to fight. Smiling and raising her hand in greeting towards Gwen, Meg turned her attention back on the knights. Looking at Dagonet and Bors, she would not have believed that they were the two most lovable people she knew. Looking past them, she saw Gawain and Galahad cracking jokes at the unfortunate Saxon's behalf. Lancelot and Arthur were sitting next to each other just looking over the field of dead people, waiting for the larger army. Finally she looked beside her to see Tristan.

He had been watching her as she looked at the other knights, waiting for his turn for her attention. Smiling a small smile for her, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Smiling at him, she took his hand in hers and held it on her lap, wanting to savor his touch as much as she could. Because she knew what could possibly happen during the battle, and she didn't want her worst fear to come true.

As the sounds of the army drew closer, Arthur instructed them to ride to a spot that the Saxons couldn't see them. From their hiding spot, the horsemen could see the larger army file through the gates and then slow down so the leader could give the orders on what to do. The leader did just as Arthur and Merlin had planned. He sent part of his army towards the left flank and to their deaths. The minute those Saxons walked past the small ditch that ran through the hill, the Woads let loose flaming arrows towards them. Seeing the flying balls of flames, the Saxons stopped walking and lifted their shields, not sensing that in doing so, they really put themselves in more danger; because as soon as the first arrow hit the ditch, it went up in a glorious sight of fire, killing and maiming many of the Saxons. Before the Saxons realized what happened, Gwen, her Woad army, and half of Meg's Riders came running out of the trees. Seeing the enemy, the Saxons started running towards the Woads and the two collided in a loud crash of shields and metal and bodies. The battle had begun.

Meanwhile, the main army was looking for Arthur and his knights. Upon seeing the fiery ditch the leader got mad. Just as he was taking another step, Merlin let loose a couple of flaming balls from the catapults. Sending them flying towards the army, and killing many as the ball rolled through the lines of men.

After the last flaming ball landed, Arthur gave the signal to ride towards the army. As the horsemen rode hard to fight, the rest of the Woads and Meg's Riders joined them. The two armies, if it were, collided with a mighty sound of metal hitting metal and many screams from the wounded men and Woad women.

Galloping head on into the battle, Meg lost sight of the knights. She was able to stay on Angel longer than she had expected, of course it helped that Angel was doing her job in protecting her mistress. It finally got to the point where Meg had to get off of Angel, but her horse stayed by her side, still protecting her from any attack. Meg took out the matching sword from her back and started to slice and dice her way through the Saxons. Many of them had thought that she would be easy to kill, those were the ones that didn't last long under her assault. Meg managed to get through half of the army before she looked around to see where any of the knights were.

As she watched, she saw Dagonet and Bors fighting back to back, protecting each other from any attack to their backs. Galahad seemed to be faring quite well, only a few scratches here and there. Arthur was fighting his way towards Gawain, who had an arrow in his left shoulder. Having reached Gawain, Arthur stopped a Saxon from cutting him down. Meg looked harder to find Tristan. Finding him fighting the Saxon leader put a fear in Meg's heart that she had never felt before. Deciding to help her lover, Meg jumped onto Angel's back and tore across the battle field, killing Saxons as she went.

Meg got to the fighting pair just as the leader hit Tristan on the back of the head, making him stumble to the ground and grabbing the back of his head. As the leader went to attack him again, Meg stepped between the men and faced off with the leader, hoping to occupy the man so Arthur could get there in time to kill him.

"Ahhh, I was wondering if you would have the guts to fight me yourself, my feisty whore." The Saxon leader said while smiling evilly.

"I just came to make sure you got too tired to fight Arthur. You know, make it easier to kill you. Besides, I already told you that I'm no one's whore, not even yours. I will prove it to you if I have to." Meg replied getting into her fighting stance, and throwing off the leader with getting both of her swords ready to fight him.

Meg waited with patience for the leader to make the first move in their little fight. She didn't have to wait long. The leader came charging towards her thinking that he could fight her with brute force. Meg waited until he was a step away from her before twirling out of the way of the rampaging bull. Laughing under her breathe, Meg tighten her grip on her handles and waited again for him to make his move. Turning around, the leader looked at Meg, who was casually waiting for him, trying to figure out how she got behind him.

He ran at her again and this time she didn't move, she just blocked his sword with one of hers. When she pushed his sword away, she came across with her other one to give him a slice on the cheek. Stepping back, the leader felt his cheek with his fingers. Drawing his hand away from his face, he looked at his fingers to see blood on them. Enraged by this slip of a woman, he started to fight her with more force than was necessary. Meg kept blocking the attacks, praying that Arthur would hurry up and get to her before she had to kill this man.

Just as she finished saying her little prayer, Arthur showed up to join the fight. Smiling at him, Meg inclined her head towards the leader and took off across the field. Hopping onto Angel's back, Meg looked for Gwen and Lancelot. Seeing both of them on the other side of the fiery ditch, Meg watched as the bald headed Saxon kill the Rider she had on Lancelot.

Urging Angel on, Meg rode her across the fire to land almost beside Gwen. Getting off the horse's back, Meg looked at Gwen and acknowledged her. Telling Gwen with a look to go fight somewhere else, Meg walked towards Lancelot and the bald Saxon. She watched as Lancelot made the Saxon fall down then turned to fight a Saxon coming from behind him.

Just as she was upon the Saxon, he rolled a dead Saxon over to find a crossbow under the body. As he was raising up to fire the arrow, Meg tapped him on the back with her sword. The Saxon turned around to see the business end of a sword at his throat, daring him to think about shooting the arrow. He dropped the cross bow and raised his hands up in a non threatening manner.

Smirking, Meg kicked a sword towards him and nodded to him to pick it up. He bent over to pick the sword up, keeping his eye on her the whole time. When he had the weapon, Meg got into her fighting stance. The Saxon ran at her like his leader had. Meg stepped out of harms way the same way as before, only she tapped this Saxon's butt when he past her to irritate him. It worked too, because when he turned around, he charged her again without realizing the risk he was putting himself in.

Meg stopped his attack with one of her swords and sliced his side open with the other one. He stepped back in shock. He touched his side and watched as his hand came back with blood. Seeing his own blood, he started towards her again with fire in his eyes. He could not believe this woman was fighting him and winning.

Meg waited until the right moment; she wanted to tire this Saxon out before she killed him. Some would say that she was toying with him, she would agree with them. She smiled as she watched him start to falter in his fighting; she waited until he left himself open to make her move. A few short moves later, she saw him let his side become unguarded and took that one slip up of his and slid her sword into the opening. Shocked, the Saxon looked down to see one of her swords sticking out of his chest. He looked up at her and tried to knock the other sword out of her hand, but he didn't have the strength left to put much effort into it. Meg easily slipped her other sword into his chest right where his heart was then sliced downward to open his chest wide open.

The Saxon slide to his knees and then toppled over onto his side as Gwen and Lancelot came running over. Meg looked up from the Saxon's body to see that the rest of the army had been decimated while she had fought him. Gwen looked at the Saxon on the ground and then to her friend. Shaking her head, Gwen hugged Meg with the ferociousness of a girl who had seen too many of her friends die that day.

Meg hugged Gwen back and looked towards Lancelot to see him looking at her with a new respect. Smiling, Meg walked over to him and hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek. She looked over the battle field to see Arthur standing next to a sitting scout. Breathing a sigh in relief, Meg whistled for Angel.

Mounting her horse, she rode over to Arthur and Tristan. Stopping next to them, Meg looked at Tristan, "I believe we have a bet to settle." And she reached down to help him onto the back of her horse. Grinning, he mounted behind her and they rode out of the gates towards the large tree.

What they saw there had them laughing and shaking their heads. There on the ground underneath the tree, was the body of the traitor with two arrows in his body, one in his chest, and the other in his head. Getting down from Angel, Meg tied a rope to the man's ankle and mounted again, tying the other end of the rope to her saddle, Meg and Tristan rode back to Arthur and the other knights.

As they rode up to the men, the knights looked at the body and started to laugh, full body laughs. Smiling, Meg untied the body and left it for the burial they were going to have in the coming days, even a traitor needed a proper burial.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

The next two weeks were a blur in cleaning and burning the dead bodies. The Saxons' bodies were thrown into a large pile and burnt while the other casualties were given proper burials. Many Woads were buried on Badon Hill as a sign of respect for all that they gave in the fight.

During those weeks, Meg and Tristan got to know each other. They would spend most of the day with each other and all of their nights. Neither of them spoke of what would happen when she left, and they both knew she was going to. When they were not together, Meg would help Gwen plan her wedding to Arthur. It was to be the biggest celebration that anyone had ever seen.

Gawain and Galahad were planning on going home. Lancelot and Dagonet were thinking of joining them. Bors was trying to dig up the courage to ask Vanora to marry him. The battle brought home the fact that he wasn't going to live forever and he wanted to spend the rest of his days with the red head next to him.

Arthur was the only one not thinking of the future, he was talking about it. He spent many of his days locked in his study with Merlin and a couple of other elders, making plans on how to make life better on the island. He was shocked to find out that the Woads wanted to crown him king. Arthur tried to get out of it, but Merlin was not going to let him. Apparently the Woads respected the person Arthur was, even though he had killed many of their comrades.

By the time the wedding came, Gwen was a nervous wreck, she kept changing her mind about each and every little thing. It finally got to the point that Meg dragged her to the training ring and threw a sword at her.

"I have had enough of your nervousness. We are going to work it out of you. This way you can leave the poor servants to prepare your wedding without the constant interruption of you changing your mind. They know what they are doing, so let them do it." Meg said in a frustrated voice.

Gwen was shocked to see her friend in such a state. She then dropped her head, remembering what her friend was saying was true. With an embarrassed flush, Gwen brought her head up and got into her fighting stance. By then several of the knights and heard Meg yelling at Gwen and came to see what was going on. Because everyone had been working non stop since the battle, the knights sat down to watch the show.

Meg and Gwen faced off, waiting for the other to make the first move. They knew each other's fighting style so; it took a while for the first strike to come. When it came, it was met with a resounding crash of metal on metal. Meg and Gwen blocked and struck with such speed and accuracy that the knights were having a hard time following who was attacking and who wasn't.

They fought for about an hour before one of them made a slip. Gwen came forward to attack Meg and left her left side open for a kick. Gwen fell to the ground winded and stayed there. Meg dropped to the ground next to her and smiled. That smile was returned by Gwen and soon it turned into laughter. The knights jumped to their feet and cheered and whistled for a well met fight. Meg lay down next to Gwen and chuckled.

"I don't think they would have lasted as long as we did, do you?" She asked with a little smirk on her face.

"I think you are right. They would have been begging for mercy under your attacks. Meg, you are a force to be reckoned with on the field but when you try to beat a lesson into someone, you are ruthless." Gwen said with a chuckle.

The knights came over to where the women were lying and helped them up. It was, in fact, Gwen and Arthur's wedding day and the women still had to get ready. When the women got up they thanked the knights and walked off to get ready, arms slung over each other and whispering in each others ears.

The wedding was set to take place at sunset. To make better use of the sunlight, and also to allow the bridal party some reprieve from the sun's heat. Meg was the first to walk into the circle of stones that was to be the wedding alter, followed by Arthur and Merlin. The knights and Vanora and the children were standing outside of the circle. There were many Woad archers standing at the edge of the cliff with their bows and arrows, ready for their part at the end of the ceremony.

Meg was wearing a flowing dress of deep burgundy with long sleeves that belled out at the wrist. The skirt was skimming the ground when she walked. The collar of the dress was square and was decorated with silver and gold threads holding small beads the shape of flowers. She had a belt of hammered gold around her waist that hung down to her feet. Her hair was pulled up in the sides and held in place by a wreathe of flowers. In her hands, she had a bouquet of wild flowers.

Then Gwen came in the circle. All eyes were turned towards her and they were in awe at the sight of their new queen. She was dressed in a light blue flowing gown with her hair pulled back with a circlet and her hair was pulled up to allow her veil to flutter behind her as she walked forward to Arthur.

The ceremony didn't take very long. Arthur placed the ring from his finger on hers to signify his love for her, and Merlin gave Gwen a goblet with wine in it to drink then pass to Arthur. After that Merlin presented the King and Queen to the crowd and everyone cheered. Bors, getting caught up in the moment, took a step out and yelled Arthur's name and then saluted him with his sword. The other knights smiled and just shook their heads at Bors. The archers, then, did their duty by firing flaming arrows out towards the ocean from the cliff side.

When everyone got back the Wall, the women went to take Gwen's veil off. The banquet that was set out was something to see. There was at least five different kinds of meats, hunted by the knights and Arthur the day before. The bakers worked tirelessly to make all of the breads and desserts needed for such a feast. As soon as everyone had eaten, the musicians that Arthur found walked to the side of the room and started to play a lively tune. Bors drug Vanora out onto the floor, stepping on her toes more than once. Arthur and Gwen watched as the rest of the knights save Tristan go and find themselves partners.

Gwen got up and walked towards Meg, who was sitting next to Tristan watching the goings on of the knights. Gwen sat next to Meg and whispered something in her ear. Meg was thoughtful for a minute and replied to Gwen in a whispered tone. Arthur and Tristan were getting suspicious about the exchange. The women smiled at each other and stood up together. Gwen walked towards the musicians and spoke to them while Meg started to talk to herself; really she was warming her vocal cords up. After speaking to the musicians, Gwen walked towards the center of the room and tried to get the attention of everyone dancing. It wasn't working, so Tristan, who had been watching the women, whistled a high pitched whistle that effectively quieted everyone. Gwen smiled her thanks to Tristan and turned back to the crowd of people.

"I have asked Meg to sing a song for me, and she has agreed. But she wants both Tristan and Arthur to come to the middle of the room, because her song is for both of them with the same feeling from me. I would sing with her, but I won't subject anyone to my wailings." She said chuckling.

Arthur and Tristan looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They made their way to the center of the room where Meg was standing getting ready to sing. Someone had brought chairs for the three of them to sit in while she sang.

_**(Insert lyrics for: You Found Me by Kelly Clarkson)**_

The crowd cheered when she was done. Arthur and Tristan stood up from their chairs and hugged their respective women. Gwen smiled at Meg, who had tears in her eyes. Tristan let Meg go, but kept her by his side. Arthur let Gwen go and came to Meg to give her a hug and a kiss on her cheek as a way of saying thank you for the song. Bors came over and swung Meg into a bear hug and smacked her cheek with a drunken kiss and loudly proclaimed that, next to Vanora, she was the best singer he had ever heard. Dagonet came next and hugged her, not as tightly as Bors did. Gawain and Galahad came over and kissed both of her cheeks, while Tristan gave a playful growl. Lancelot was the last one to come and see her. He came up and hugged and tried to get a quick kiss in but she was too fast for him, so his kiss landed on her cheek instead of on her lips.

The feast wound down long past the midnight hour. But Meg and Tristan had excused themselves far before then. It was to be their last night together and they wanted to spend what time they had together. Meg gave Gwen a hug goodnight and Arthur a kiss on the cheek, and left to go to Tristan's room.

After making love for the third time that night, the couple held each other and whispered sweet nothings in each others ears. Not wanting to let go for any reason. With her back to Tristan's front, Meg let silent tears to fall. She had been dreading this day since they survived the battle of Badon Hill. Softly, she started to sing a song for just him. This way every time she heard it in her time, she would think of only him.

_**(Insert lyrics to: When you come back down by Nickel Creek)**_

As she finished the song, Tristan hugged her tighter to his side. Meg was a little shocked to feel wetness on her neck where Tristan's head was burrowed. She turned in his arm and realized that he was crying. Gently, she reached up with her hand and softly brushed his tears off of his face. She smiled a small smile and cuddled deeper into his embrace, just wanting to remember the feel of his arms around her.

The next morning dawned hazy and gray. The day promised an onslaught of rain, and it helped with the feeling of the riders heading into the forest. Arthur and his knights plus Meg and Gwen rode in virtual silence to the clearing the woods where Meg was to leave. As they rose, Meg kept her ears open for any strange sounds. It was a little before they reached the clearing that she heard a faint cry coming from off the path. Stopping Angel, she got off and wandered in the direction of the cry. Tristan, seeing her stop and dismount, went after her to see what she was doing. It was just the two of them when they found an injured baby hawk. Meg picked him up and cradled him to her chest and looked at Tristan with pleading in her eyes. He looked at the little bird in her hands and sighed a heavy sigh.

Smiling a little at his love, he took the bird from her and cradled it much like she did. "I will take care of him for you. When you come back, he will be healthy and in need of seeing you as much as I will. So please, don't stay away too long."

Meg smiled a tearful smile and took his hand in hers and walked back to the other riders.

Five minutes later, the little train of riders entered the small clearing. There in the center was Merlin, waiting for Meg to join him. Everyone dismounted and waited their turn for a goodbye from Meg. Arthur and Gwen were the first.

"If ever you need me, just ask Merlin to summon me. I will be here no matter what is happening at home. And Arthur, you take care of her, if I hear you haven't, there will be hell to pay." Meg said while hugging her best friend and Arthur. Arthur nodded his head and whipped a tear from his cheek with a small smile.

The next were Gawain and Galahad. She hugged them both and gave them each a kiss on the cheeks. "Take care my brothers. You had better be here when I come back, or I will hunt you down faster than the Roman army can." She warned them. They laughed a little and agreed to be here for her.

Dagonet and Bors were after them. They both gathered her up in bear hugs and got kisses on the cheeks as well. "Bors, you take care of your family. Don't make me want to beat you over the head for doing something stupid. Dag, keep him in line will you?" They both chuckled and agreed to do was she said.

Lancelot came next. He stepped up and tried to get more than a little kiss from her, but a quick smack to the back of his head got rid of that notion. "My friend, take care. You might want to go home to see your family, but, like the twins over there, you had better be here when I get back." She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "She is taken, try to find another. If you continue down this path, you will hurt not only yourself but her and him as well." Lancelot looked shocked at her warning, but nodded his head and let go of her after a quick hug.

Tristan was the last one. She went to him and gave him a passionate kiss and didn't want to leave. "I will be back. Take care of Aryn for me. I will think of you always. I have your markings and your mother's necklace to remind me of you. Just don't forget about me. I would be too hurt if you forgot me." She kissed him again and petted the baby hawk, Aryn, and whistled for Lucifer. She whispered something to him and let him take off of her arm. He flew into the air and circled the clearing once then landed on Tristan's shoulder.

Smiling sadly, she walked towards Merlin and took off her cloak. The people in the clearing got the first good look of her 'travel' clothes. They were a pair of dark blue jeans, a white long sleeved shirt and a pair of tennis shoes. She turned to the knights and Gwen and waved one last time to them. Turning to Merlin she spoke to him quietly.

"Keep them safe for me. Tell Tristan that he has Angel until I return, and that I expect her to be in prime condition for a race. Also, promise me that you will contact me if they ever need my help, no matter how small." Merlin smiled at her and agreed to her terms. She hugged him and kissed his cheek.

As she let him go, Meg felt a slight tug on her stomach and she fell forward.

A.N.: In my original story, I had the lirycs for these songs in it, but I didn't wantto piss off the powers that be by leaving them in there. If you'd like to have them, send me a P.M. and I'll send them to you. Hope you enjoyed the story, there's only one chapter left, and then I'm going to start working on a sequel, I may need some ideas. Feel free to send me some of them if you'd like me to write it, have a beginning, but not the rest. :)


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Meg suddenly stopped falling, right onto her bed in her room. She sat up and looked around her. The room was just as she had left it, dirty. Clothes were all over the floor. Her DVDs were scattered all over the cabinet, and this was just her room. No telling what the rest of her place looked like.

She wandered into the living room to put some music on. Turning on the music, she turned around to see that one of her friends had im'ed her while she had been gone. She sat at her desk and started chatting with her friend. This was the one person she had told about her adventures in the Arthurian time. It was time to fill her in on what happened this time.

All of a sudden _THAT_ song came on and she stopped what she was doing to listen to it. Suddenly the tears were too much for her to keep in and she flung herself onto her couch and cried her eyes out for everything she had left behind. When her tears dried up, she made herself something to eat and then started cleaning her apartment. She never knew when the time would come that she would go back; might as well have a clean place to come back to next time. After cleaning, she got herself something to eat and took a long shower. The shower helped cleanse her of her little pity party she was going through. She thought that there were worst ways for things to end.

Feeling refreshed from the shower, Meg got some snacks and drinks and popped her favorite movie into her DVD player. Even though she had just left there, she suddenly felt the need to see her friends and brothers. She watched the movie and cried when the icy lake scene came and went. She laughed at Gawain and Galahad getting drunk. She sang along with Vanora when she sang for them. She growled when the estate scene came, and she was glad that she didn't show up before Gwen killed Marius. It was the battle of Badon Hill that had her crying and sobbing like a little baby. It was Tristan's death scene that had her thanking God that she had been able to save Tristan, Dagonet, and Lancelot.

She smiled and cheered with the crowd when Gwen and Arthur got married, remembering being there and how beautiful everything was. Drying her tears, she stopped the movie and went and cleaned her kitchen of the mess she had made to get her snacks. Looking at her watch, she realized that the day had slipped away from her and she got ready for bed. Changing into her pajamas, she thought back to the night before she had left Tristan. Brushing her hair out, she thought of the good Bishop and his face as he left the Wall before the battle. Braiding her hair into two braids, she thought of her fight with the bald Saxon.

Meg realized that she didn't know what would have happened had she died in that time. Would she have come back to her time? Or would she have been dead in her time as well? When she went back, she was going to have a major talk with Merlin about this little trick he gave her.

As she lay down to go to sleep, she thought of what she was going to have to do the next day. When she fell asleep, her dreams were filled with the lovely sight of three hawks flying side by side. On the ground she saw her pure white horse running along side a dappled grey horse. It seemed as if they were trying to beat each other in a race across the fields. When they reached the wall, Meg's gaze was pulled to the top and she saw a cloaked figure staring across the field and watching the horses race and the hawks flying next to each other. Meg watched as a gentle breeze pushed the hood of the cloak off of the head of the person to reveal Tristan. She watched as his gaze roamed the field and suddenly stops on the spot where she was standing.

His face was a picture of puzzlement, his eyes widen as if he did not believe what he saw. He raised his hand hesitantly, as if not sure she was there. She raised her hand to let him know she had seen him. His eyes widen further, if it was possible, and he smiled a radiant smile. He whistled for his horse and he came riding up to her. He slowed down when got a few feet from her and dismounted from his horse. He slowly walked about to her; still not sure she was real. He reached his hand out to touch her, to gently run his fingers down her cheek.

When his fingers encountered flesh, he placed his palm on her cheek. Cupping it gently, he leaned in to touch to lips with his. Just as his lips were about to touch hers, Meg bolted upright in bed. She touched her cheek, certain that she had been there, if only for a little bit. She still had the feeling of his hand cupping her cheek. She curled up in bed and cried until she fell asleep again. This time she didn't have a dream at all.

The next day, Meg got out of bed and got ready to go to work. She stood in the shower and remembered her dream from that night. While she got dressed, her ring started to glow; she looked down and noticed that it had a small piece of paper sticking out of it. She thought it was odd. Meg pulled the paper from her ring and read it. She smiled a huge smile and called her job. They were going to have to deal without her for a few days. She had the time coming to her.

After calling in, she got her keys and drove to the store. There were things she had to get. When she got back home, she emailed her friend to let her know she was going back and that she would email the details to her when she got back home. She packed a small backpack with the things she bought and got ready to go back. Smiling and giddy, Meg brushed a happy tear from her cheek. She hoped things had gone well while she had been gone. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her stomach and she fell forward

**The End**

A.N.: Hope you all enjoyed it. Many thanks to everyone who reviewed. Again there is a sequel in the making, but I'm stuck on what should happened in it. I do have a begining, but after that, nothing. I would gladly use any and all help/ ideas sent my way. Can't wait to see how that one turns out.


End file.
